The best free-to-play games

Admit it: You saw the word "free" and your eyes lit up. But hold up! Even in the case of the many "free-to-play" online games, you still have to give up something.

Thankfully, you're mostly just giving up your time.

Well, maybe "time" is more valuable than we'll have you believe, but hey, at least it's better than giving up your hard-earned cash, right?

The downside of most free games is that they can be a real grind and a slow progression from inexperienced newbie to seasoned veteran.

That's the point: you're exchanging the time needed in a game to achieve anything of worth — often well beyond a hundred hours — in order to play it for free. It's a game publisher's way of saying, "We'll let you play this for free, but only if you give us your soul!"

Okay, it's not really as evil as it sounds, but it's still worth noting that free to play games are "free" for a reason.

It's important you choose the right game to play, because while you might not have to pull out the credit card to play it, you'll still want some value for the amount of hours you'll need to get any sense of achievement.